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Health officials in St. John’s inform 50 people of tuberculosis risk

A file photo of a tuberculosis vaccine. Matt McClain for The Washington Post via Getty Images

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Health officials in eastern Newfoundland say they have notified about 50 people of the risk of contracting tuberculosis after a student was confirmed to have the illness.

Eastern Health says it reached out to close contacts of the teenager, who attends Holy Heart of Mary High School in St. John’s.

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Dr. David Allison, medical officer of health for Eastern Health, says the parents or guardians of all those identified as close contacts of the student have been contacted.

But he says the risk to the contacts is very low and students should continue attending classes.

Eastern Health has also met with parents of the contacts and school officials.

Testing for tuberculosis for the close contacts will begin at the school on Tuesday and it’s expected final results will not be known until a second round of testing is done in June.

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